Get More Paid Parental Leave
If you’re pregnant, or planning to grow your family, we have good news regarding Parental Leave Pay days!
BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE
Australia’s Paid Parental Leave scheme might not be as generous as that offered by Scandi nations, like Sweden and Norway, but it’s still very welcome when you’ve got a new baby or newly adopted child.
The Australian government’s Paid Parental Leave scheme means both you and your partner (if you have one) can take time out to care for your lovely little human, while receiving some cash to keep the family budget ticking over.
The actual payment amount is based on the national minimum wage, so it changes from financial year to financial year; and to be eligible for Parental Leave Pay, you have to meet an income test, work test and residency rules.
The date your child arrives in your family is also important, because it makes a difference to how many Parental Leave Pay days you can get.
The reason for this is that the Federal government overhauled the Paid Parental Leave scheme last year – combining Parental Leave Pay and Dad and Partner Pay into one payment – and they’re now slowly, but surely, upping the number of Parental Leave Pay days available to families.
This means that if your child arrived on or after 1 July 2023, your family can get up to 100 days (or 20 weeks) of Parental Leave Pay, and in a few short months, this figure will rise!
If you’re expecting a new addition on or after 1 July 2024, you can get up to 110 Parental Leave Pay days (or 22 weeks); and if you start or expand your family later on, this figure will increase further.
Looking into the future, your family can get up to 120 Paid Parental Leave days (or 24 weeks) if your child is born or adopted from 1 July 2025; and you can expect up to 130 days (or 26 weeks) if you welcome a child on or after 1 July 2026.
In time, there will also be increases to the number of reserved days a couple of parents can get.
At the moment, you’ll find that 10 Parental Leave Pay Days are set aside for the non-birth parent or second adoptive parent to use.
These reserved days encourage both parents to access the payment, and this means that, generally speaking, the most Paid Parental Leave you can get as a birth mother is 90 days, and you and your partner will both need to claim Parental Leave Pay if your family wants to get the full 100 days (or 110 days from 1 July 2024).
You and your partner can take leave at the same time for up to 10 days, which is great when your bundle of joy first arrives; and from 1 July 2025, there will be more reserved days allocated.
From 1 July 2025, you’ll have 15 days reserved for each of you to use, and from 1 July 2026, the number will rise to 20.
Going forward, you’ll also be able to take more Parental Leave Pay days together.
Specifically, if your child arrives on or after 1 July 2025, you’ll be able to take up to 20 days (or four weeks) at the same time.
Whether you’re expecting your first child, or planning your fourth, these changes are good to see.
The government has definitely made an effort to give us more paid time with our newest family members, and more flexibility to share the care.
By 2026, our 130 days of Paid Parental Leave will still be a long way off Sweden’s 480 days (or 240 for each parent), but they’re definitely better than the 100 we currently have, and you can learn more about our Parental Leave Pay scheme on the Services Australia website.
